‘The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and his enemy’s.’
Napoleon Bonaparte
Clients often ask me when things will run “smoothly” with “no stress” in their businesses.
The only rational answer is when there is no change or growth happening. And one strategy is to begin to understand that chaos is generated when we grow.
In the early days of business development – there are no systems to “control” the chaos. So the stress on owners is enormous. As you develop more procedures and systems (often just a form or a script or a checklist or a process map) – the chaos is fenced in – and owners stress reduces.
And as this process of fencing in chaos with systems continues – things run more and more smoothly. Until everything is “controlled”. Or so the dream goes.
If you are looking for growth – then new sources of chaos will arise. The key is to recognize this – and have processes (and the mindset) to recognize it – and as calmly as possible build new fences to control it. Chaos is kind of like the power source of growth.
For example – you grow to a point where you need new software. What happens when you first install it? More chaos, right? But because expect this to happen – you are mentally prepared – and you simply get to work getting it to work properly.
Another example – you grow enough that you now need a sales manager, or a marketing manager, or 3 more reps to handle the volume of leads. Do you think there will be a “spike” in chaos? You bet.
The real question is – can you rise above it, look down, and create some systems so that you can harness the power it generates? Add or adjust or your systems and procedures until things become “calm” and “predictable” again. Then take a deep breath – relax – and get ready for the next burst of growth chaos. Or sell your business. Or train your team to handle it for you…
But learn to love it, because you may as well. It is not good or bad – depending on how you manage it.